20 Cues In Robert De Niro’s Acting Method
Robert De Niro is one of the greatest actors of all time. He has shown his capabilities in every genre and role he has played, from serious drama to action to comedy. Of course, his famous roles include: Jimmy Conway in Goodfellas, Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull, Rupert Pupkin in The King of Comedy, Max Cady in Cape Fear, and Jimmy Doyle in The Deer Hunter.
In many of these films he developed a character’s physicality or altered his appearance for the role. He also learned new skills for each part such as playing piano or boxing. It seems that he never runs out of tricks. So what did De Niro do to create so many memorable roles?
A great article on Lifehack offers 20 cues from his method which can be applied to everyday life and how to approach your work. I have summarized some of these points below but please read the original article for more details:
1. Preparation: De Niro studied the real character’s mannerisms before filming began. He felt this helped him become the character and portray him accurately on film.
2. Be Detail Ori
In the early 1970s, one of the most exciting acting methodologies was introduced to Hollywood. It was the Meisner Technique. Sanford Meisner helped to develop Lee Strasberg’s ‘Method Acting’ at The Group Theatre in the 1930s and 40s, and then had spent decades teaching his own version of Method Acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City.
One of his students was Robert De Niro.
De Niro would go on to become one of America’s greatest actors. He is known for his intense preparation and ability to disappear into a role. In a business that is often about vanity, De Niro is said to be all about the work.
Today we are going to look at twenty cues from De Niro’s acting method when preparing for a role.
The way I learned to identify the cues is by watching and listening to Robert De Niro talk about his acting methods and choices. I have been collecting these interviews for years now and the results are fascinating.
Let’s start with the basics, who is Robert De Niro?
Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. (born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, producer, and director. He is a recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, AFI Life Achievement Award and Presidential Medal of Freedom. Source Wikipedia
With regards to his acting methods he is considered one of the greatest actors in film history. He has had numerous nominations from all major film awards throughout his career with many wins too.
He has played in over 100 films spanning a career of more than 50 years including some of my personal favorites such as Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), Taxi Driver (1976), Casino (1995), The Deer Hunter (1978) and Heat (1995).
These are just some examples as there are way too many to mention here! To get a full list of all his movies check out IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/
To celebrate the launch of the new film, The Intern, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, I thought it would be fun to look at 20 of Robert De Niro’s performances and see what we can learn.
In this article you will find insights into a range of films from his early ‘Method’ roles to later character performances.
So let’s dive in.
1) Taxi Driver (1976)
Character: Travis Bickle, a Vietnam War veteran who takes a job as a taxi driver on the night shift. He becomes obsessed with cleaning up the city and decides to assassinate presidential candidate Charles Palantine.
1. De Niro got a job as an usher at the Village Theater in New York. After watching a film, he would go home and draw all the characters from memory.
2. He went to see Marlon Brando perform in A Streetcar Named Desire on stage, an experience that sent him into an acting frenzy.
3. When preparing for a role, De Niro would create a detailed personal history of his character’s life, going back several generations.
4. To prepare for Taxi Driver, De Niro spent five months driving around New York City with a real cabbie named Travis Bickle; he was even paid to drive passengers and keep his tips!
5. During filming for Raging Bull, De Niro gained 60 pounds to depict Jake LaMotta in later stages of his life. He also learned to box from the boxer himself!
6. For preparation for The Deer Hunter (1978), De Niro trained with the Special Forces unit of the Army and learned how to handle various types of weapons and explosives, including hand grenades and missiles!
7. For one scene where Al Capone (De Niro) beats someone up with a baseball bat, he smashed actual watermelons instead of fake ones to
1. De Niro’s first role was in the 1964 drama, The Wedding Party. He played the role of a young man named Jon Rubin. He was paid $100 for playing this role.
2. De Niro spent five years working as a taxi driver to study the people and get into character for the movie Taxi Driver (1976).
3. In Raging Bull (1980), he gained 60 lbs to play Jake LaMotta in his later years. He then lost all that weight plus an additional 15 lbs to portray Jake in his younger years.
4. For Cape Fear (1991), he took up smoking cigars and drinking whiskey, even though he had quit smoking six years earlier and disliked whiskey.
5. In The Godfather Part II (1974), De Niro learned how to speak Italian fluently and trained himself to box like a professional before he played Vito Corleone.
6. For Meet the Parents (2000), De Niro had to learn how to milk a cow, which he found difficult because he didn’t have much patience for it!
7. De Niro dislocated his wrist several times while playing opposite Al Pacino in Heat (1995).
8. In Ronin (1998),
It’s my firm belief that De Niro’s method is the best. Why? Because it’s simple.
The techniques are easy to master; you don’t have to be a genius to understand them.
These techniques are learnable by anyone–even you!
1. The first technique is called “The Actor’s Prayer.” This is a simple technique that has been used by thousands of actors for hundreds of years. It goes like this:
2. The second technique is called “The Actor’s Method.” This technique is based on the famous book by playwright and actor Stephen Sondheim called “A Short History of Acting,” which was published in 1867 and was one of the first books about how actors can learn their craft from other actors who were successful before them.
3. The third technique is called “The Actor’s Way.” This technique is based on an article by playwright and actor David Mamet called “How to Become an Actor in Five Easy Steps,” which was published in 1978 and has been reprinted many times since then. In this article, Mamet gave five steps for becoming
